Chapter Text
“Sorry, where are you trying to take me?”
A practiced smile spread across Ann’s face, “coffee! Just you and me, alright? There’s this new place I’ve been meaning to try—“
“Let’s just visit Leblanc, then,” came Goro’s clipped reply.
Ann’s grip tightened with urgency, manicured nails digging into the leather of his gloves, “no!” She almost yelled. She twirled a strand of hair with a free finger before her eyes blinked back to normal, “I mean, we just have to see this place. They have the best pancakes.”
“I thought this was your first time visiting?”
“I mean, that’s what I heard. Come on, Goro, let’s just have a nice meal this afternoon.”
Goro allowed her to briskly lead him through the buzz of chattering students and yawning teachers, down a couple of steps until the cool underground air hit his face. His nose scrunched up as the mild taste of fridge overwhelmed him.
“Ann, you can let go of my hand now,” he said loftily, “I can follow you on my own.”
Like it was a reflex, her fingers practically flew away from his wrist, “right, of course. Just excited, you know,” a nervous giggle sounded out.
Akechi Goro was a detective, obviously—come to think of it, you don’t even need a detective to come to his conclusion. Ann was definitely not interested in a ‘casual hangout between friends.’ Her anxious demeanor, the nails brushing worriedly through her hair… what was she looking for.
“Ann,” Goro began, “is there something wrong—“
“Nope!” her voice painfully raised its pitch, “I’m all fine, just a little jittery from… walking.”
“Walking,” he noted dully.
“I mean, we were kind of speed walking, right?”
Goro really hoped the modeling industry didn’t require much acting work.
As a proper detective would, piles of noted moments and images flashed across his mind. He had to go through all of this—I mean, maybe someone could be nervous about a cafe? Yet everything was practically fighting against that possibility.
Her and Sakamoto spoke in hushed tones that entire day, glancing around with paranoia etched across their faces. Ann’s expressions blinked between shock, worry, and eventually a strange kind of… focus? Attentiveness? Like that of an engaged listener.
Goro had approached them with an inquiry and the pair nearly jumped out of their skin, gesturing wildly before choking out a vague answer. As he strode away, Goro could’ve sworn he heard Sakamoto mutter something along the lines of ‘see what I mean?’
And then suddenly, Ann almost pounced Goro the moment he stepped foot out of his classroom, broken speech ranging between ‘super strong craving’ and ‘strict hours’ and ‘really fluffy crepes—I mean, pancakes.’ Not even a simple text message.
He craned his neck, turning to face Ann looking anywhere but back at him. She pulled out her phone, flicked with the charms and opened her camera app before clicking it off again. It almost felt like she was repeating this strange dance like a ritual, cycling through random apps before shoving it back into her pocket, foot tapping impatiently against the concrete floors.
Goro folded his arms, an exhale slipping past his lips, “Ann, I’d rather you be frank with me because—“
“That must be our train!” she chirped, feigning cheerfulness, “I was, uh, just nervous because of the waiting. And stuff.”
“And stuff,” Goro echoed firmly, tone devoid of emotion.
Ann opened her mouth, but the roar of a train screeching to a halt saved Goro from whatever poor excuse she was about to come up with.
The doors slid open, the two just short of managing to squeeze past the crowds and pushing into the boarded vehicle. Goro's lip curled as he was nearly shoved into a wall by a bumbling group of middle schoolers; another reminder of why he detested public transport so much.
See, it's not like Goro dislikes Ann—quite the contrary, in fact. Trying to get Akira out of detention, she opened a shaky discussion about concealer brands with Goro until they successfully whisked the delinquent away from the whims of punishment. Who would've thought nearly breaking the lock on the rooftops door would come with consequences.
Since then, she'd practically drag him to whatever shopping spree or crepe stand she needed company to attend. Their odd acquaintanceship evolved into something of a friendship—though Goro couldn't count on her to familiarize him with Akira's group.
Although he held fondness for Akira—in fact, perhaps because of that fact his group didn't seem to take a liking to him. Being the student council vice president comes with its own privileges, but it doesn't stop murmurs and disgruntled stares coming his way. He'd open his locked to a flurry of love letters and deal with rumors surrounding him bordering slanderous in the same day.
Sakamoto glanced at Goro in suspicion, face souring at the mere sight of him. Okumura's expression held softness but something far from compassion. Sakura appeared to avoid him, seldom throwing lingering stares before whipping her head around, knees tightly bunched together. Even Nijima held barely concealed tolerance for him, and that alone was a very loose descriptor.
Ann never approached him with hostility—far from it. It was rather refreshing to have a girl flaunt her skincare routine and beg him for coffee outings without the slightest bit of romantic interest.
"No way I'd be interested in you, Goro!" She had nearly gasped once, "I mean, no offense, but, well…"
"I understand," he had replied, his voice displaying calmness, "I'm a little difficult."
"No, it's not that," her fingers curled around the hem of her skirt, "it's… well, me and Shiho are kind of an item."
Goro couldn't say he didn't anticipate such a relationship—with how intimate the two were, it'd hardly be much until Ann and Shiho got together.
He had browsed a ridiculously bustling corner store; not just busy in its noise, but in the loud and colorful vases of fake flowers and stuffed animals sitting hearts in their laps. Goro couldn't quite remember ever doing something like this for anyone—much less a couple—but the feeling wasn't unwelcome. In fact, it was the very sensation that inspired more gift-giving soon after.
Nonetheless, Goro simply had to suspect Ann of something. Likely involving Sakamoto—or, moreover, maybe even Akira since she seemed so reluctant to go near Leblanc. The thought of Akira being associated deepened the scowl Goro didn't even realize was forming.
Through the tight push and shove of train-goers, Ann appeared to catch Goro’s irritated expression. Her fingers flew back up to graze the tips of her hair—an impressive feat considering the lack of space.
“Don’t worry, I’m not plotting anything,” she put in hastily, trying to keep her voice low.
“I didn’t even say anything,” Goro mumbled back.
“Well.” A stubborn strand of blonde held itself loosely between her fingertips, “just saying that. Detectives are paranoid… and whatever.”
Goro resisted to urge to throw a well-intentioned glare her way. If Mika was such an important role model to Ann, he expected mildly better acting skills.
The train came to its usual staggering stop before a robotic yet pleasant voice announced the stop. Ann’s eyes lit up, initial anxiety abandoned.
“That’s our stop!” she whispered, pushing past against an office worker that looked almost dead on his feet. Goro could only applaud her efficiency; squeezing through sweat-stained backs and slipping past wobbling feet came naturally to her.
The stench of various perfume scents and humidity was soon replaced with the distinct air-conditioning that reeked the entire station. Well, it was a bit of an improvement, Goro thought to himself as he took a deep breath of untainted air.
Ann folded her arms, “do you need me to hold your hand again?” Seemingly aware of how cutting she sounded, she took a moment to fix her tone, “sorry, I meant, we have to go… right now.”
Goro followed her pace, “surely our outing isn’t that urgent?” he mentioned, tone dripping with insolence.
“The hours are strict,” came her confident respond, “it’s, like, 5pm right now, and they close in an hour or so.”
“…Are there no better cafe options?”
“Trust me, the desserts are to die for. Like, literally, the Insta page showed these amazing parfaits with so much cream, and endless piles of chocolate crepes…"
Ann droned on about various dessert assortments that probably had enough sugar combined to kill a dozen children. Goro's steps sped up, placing her alongside him and she led him through intersection after crossroad until the two stood side-by-side facing a dingy coffee shop.
The flocks of pedestrians were sparse for good reason. Goro could feel his nose wrinkling at the appearance alone, and moreover the smell of burnt coffee and damp rags. Cheap fairy lights wrapped around water stained pole beams and flickered with the little color it still held. Newspaper clippings were pinned to the grimy windows, telling stories of something related to a fraudulent artist and his pupil. The glass at the window was cracked—even from far away, the contents of that place looked far from impressive.
Ann's face fell, muttering something under her breath about 'Ryuji' and 'such an idiot.' Well, now he was positive Sakamoto had some involvement in… whatever this was.
Ann placed her hands on her hips, quickly twisting her lips into a beaming expression, "this is the place!" she announced joyfully, "let's go inside then, now."
As the door swung open, that unmistakable tuft of yellow-blond hair came into sight. Sakamoto was cloaked very poorly behind an absurdly large newspaper, headlines screaming information about underground Yakuza rings. Ann's mouth fell open almost comically, putting on an act of near laughable disbelief.
"Oh!" Her voice came out in a breath, "wow, it's… Ryuji! Who would've thought he'd be here too!"
Her eyes flickered to Goro maybe a dozen times, trying to capture an expression of shock. His face remained deadpan—after all, he had been expecting such a… situation.
Ann's lips closed shut as her head bounced around, taking in the sight of the cramped place. Tables sat deserted and worn out, numerous mysterious stains lining the tables and litter hidden underneath.
"Well, since there's nowhere else to sit, let's just sit here with Ryuji." Before Goro could protest, her fingers wrapped around his wrist again, forcing him into the booth. "What a coincidence!" She smiled before seating herself by Sakamoto, gesturing for Goro to take his place across from the two.
"It's not a coincidence," Sakamoto blurted out, almost slamming the paper down with an unnecessary flair. Ann's features contorted with annoyance, and a noisy expression of pain slipped from Sakamoto as she elbowed him. Hard.
"Well, yes, I gathered that," Goro retorted haughtily, "what do you two need?"
"Hey," a gruff voice spoke behind the counter, interrupting their conversation, "what coffee do you kids want?"
Goro craned his neck, looking up and down at a man that looked like he belonged in a prison rather than a drab cafe.
"I was under the impression this establishment served desserts?" He called out. The man looked like he was almost about to laugh. Almost.
"We only serve black coffee here," he scoffed, "three cups for you bunch coming up."
Sakamoto cleared his throat, "well, continuing on… after I was rudely interrupted."
Ann leaned forward, polished hands clasped together, "Goro, we know you like Akira, we really do, and we're glad you two have it figured out."
"Uh…" Goro lips parted, eyes narrowed, "thank you? I don't see how this information is—"
Sakamoto coughed pointedly, shutting Goro up, "look, man, we get that it's your personality or whatever, but if you're gonna be dating Akira you gotta stop being so bitchy sometimes. Like, he's such a kind guy and shit, cut him some slack."
Goro blinked once. Twice. Three times. His eyebrows practically shot off this head as confusion flooded his face.
"Sorry, can you repeat that?"
"Like… Akira is such a kind guy and shit—"
"No, before that. About the two of us…"
"Dating, yeah," Sakamoto spoke like he was describing the weather, "aren't you two an item or something?"
"What..." Goro's voice came with an incredulous exhale, "where did… what?! How did you come to that conclusion?"
He blinked harder, hoping the pair sitting across from him would materialize into nothing and he'd wake up from a particularly sour dream. It did not. The two were still seated, faces still etched with a mixture of concern and ease, looking up at him—oh, Goro didn't even realize he stood up so abruptly. He awkwardly sat back down.
"Your coffee is here," came the drawl of an impatient waitress, followed by that agonizing sound of gum-chewing. She lazily placed three small cups of unappetizing espresso on the table, little care for proper arrangement.
Goro exhaled, exasperated as he ran a hand through his hair. He used a free hand to wrap his gloved fingers around a stained coffee cup, sliding it across the table.
"What are you acting all surprised for?" Ann tilted her head, a tiny grin returning, "we support you, of course! And we definitely won't tell anyone. Like, you literally haven't told anyone about me and—"
"No, not that," he shook his head, "how did you find out? Where? When?"
"One at a time, dude," Sakamoto yawned, leaning back into his seat, "we saw you two this morning, Akira going all 'oh, Goro-Chan, my beautiful wife' and shit." His voice shifted, poorly imitating Akira's.
"That was—he's always joking around like that!" Goro hissed, "you seriously thought we were dating because of his immature sense of humor?"
"Oh, you aren't?" Ann sounded genuinely confused, letting out a little noise of mild surprise, "you two are always so weird around each other, are you sure there's nothing going on?"
"This is slander," Goro practically announced, trying to keep his voice steady.
This situation was nothing short of preposterous—it simply couldn't make sense. Goro wasn't interested in anyone, nor was he particularly bonded with most people. Akira just happened to be his closest friend, and the person he'd trust anything with, and an idiot whose familiar smile crinkles his eyes in such a memorable way, and the one who just happens to be very attractive—
Goro rubbed his temples. Hard. No, that couldn't be the case; he's literally trying to prove he's not attracted to Akira, he needed to push those thoughts away.
"There's always this weird-ass tension between you two, you know?" Sakamoto cut in.
Goro's eyes flickered dangerously, "what kind of tension, exactly?"
"And the whole rivalry shit," he went on, completely ignoring Goro's question, "like, pretty sure Futaba would call that enemies to lovers or something like that. She says that all the time about you two. Feels like I'm interrupting something when the two of you are… doing your thing, I guess."
"Well, we're not an item, as you'd put it," Goro replied, clipped, "I think I'll be going, now. Akira invited me to Leblanc and I have work to catch up on."
Ann's gaze turned to glance at Sakamoto, dripping with 'see what I mean?'
"Hey, you're not even gonna finish your coffee?" Sakamoto exclaimed loudly, "don't stick us with the bill!"
Goro brought the cup to his lips, hesitantly taking a sip. His features visibly acidified, twisting with dramatic disgust. A rancid combination of bitter and burnt overwhelmed his taste buds, forcing him to choke down the putrid liquid.
"I definitely need to visit Leblanc, now. I'll pay what I owe you tomorrow."